00:00Water, water everywhere, not a drop to drink.
00:11If Samuel Taylor Coleridge was standing next to me at the banks of the historic river Yamuna,
00:17he would have been crying rivers.
00:19Why so?
00:20Because look at the state of the river Yamuna, which often is referred to as the lifeline
00:27of Delhi NCR, but not anymore.
00:30Yamuna's history, its origin, and the stories associated with it are immense, are a plenty.
00:38But the question is whether Yamuna is clean or not.
00:40I don't need to say anything looking at this white froth.
00:45It might appear to be a beauteous sight for many, but technically and toxically, it is
00:53very, very harmful.
00:56We have come here at the banks of river Yamuna, which connects Delhi.
01:00You see this highway going into the heart of Delhi.
01:04And then at the back, if you would see on my left-hand side, skyscrapers dotting the
01:10face of Noida NCR.
01:13Noida falls in Uttar Pradesh, Delhi governed by Aam Aadmi Party.
01:17And in between is everything that is happening.
01:20This particular river criss-crosses the national capital, touching almost several points.
01:26And bridges, over bridges like these, road, metro trains, and railways, they have been
01:33erected over it over the past few years.
01:37You see the water gushing out from one of the doors, one of the gates of the Kalindi
01:42Kunj Bridge, and the clarity with which you can see the white froth coming in is a cause
01:50of concern.
01:51It is coming from all the industrial waste that is being pumped into river Yamuna.
01:55Who would stop them?
01:56Who would ask the question that, hey, why are you putting untreated water in Yamuna?
02:02The story doesn't end there.
02:04It has lots and lots of layers into it, whether it's a government apathy, whether it's a fight
02:11between the Delhi government and the Uttar Pradesh government, center and the state,
02:15whether it is the lack of awareness of the industries, which are so many of them dotting
02:24several pockets on the adjacent banks of this river.
02:27Are they responsible?
02:29When you reach here, in the heart of the city, there is a distinct stench in the air.
02:34You can feel it.
02:35When you smell it, people say that in Mumbai, when you go there, there's a smell of sea.
02:41But here, standing here on the banks of river Yamuna, it's a stench of chemical.
02:45It's a stench of government apathy, and it's a stench of a war, a faceless war that no
02:54one has so far been able to hold one person accountable for it.
02:59Clearly, the media houses also have come here in a plenty.
03:05They are also covering this scenario as of now, only for the fact that the Chhatt festival
03:13is approaching, where the devotees come on the river banks, and then they offer their
03:18obeisance to the setting sun first, and then the rising sun.
03:23Always with the changing topography, the changing dynamics of Delhi and NCR, where lots and
03:29lots of people coming from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh are settling down here, they want
03:34to celebrate their festivals, Chhatt being one of them.
03:37And now, in the public glare, in the media glare, these news start to make headlines.
03:43But the apathy is not just from the government side, but it is also from the people in general,
03:49also from the media, and certainly also from the government, who are not paying enough
03:55attention to attend to this colossal issue that is flowing right beneath our nose.
04:03This is Pankaj Mishra reporting for One India from the banks of river Yamuna at the cusp
04:08of Delhi NCR.
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